Other news for December 2023

The post-crisis treatment procedure has been reopened

In 2021, when the Covid-19 epidemic was still raging, the public authorities had introduced, on a temporary basis until June 2nd, 2023, a new legal procedure to deal with the difficulties of companies in order to allow the rapid adoption of a plan to clear their debts caused or aggravated by the health crisis and thus facilitate their rebound. Since June 2nd, this procedure, known as “crisis exit treatment”, could no longer be used. But it has just been renewed for a new period of 2 years. Thus, from November 22nd, 2023, until November 21st, 2025, small companies in difficulty will be able to request the opening of such a procedure.

Meal vouchers

Created more than 50 years ago, meal vouchers are payment vouchers granted on an optional basis by employers to their employees to pay for a meal in a restaurant or to buy prepared food (ready meals, prepared salads, sandwiches, etc.) in certain shops. They are financed jointly by the employer and the employee. Exceptionally, from August 18th, 2022, to December 31st, 2023, employees can use their meal vouchers to pay for any food product, whether it is directly consumable or not (rice, pasta, flour, eggs, cereals, butter, milk, unprocessed meat, or fish, etc.), excluding alcohol and animal feed. Faced with the persistence of inflation, the government has decided to extend this derogation until December 31st, 2024.

Tax claims

If an error has been made in the calculation of the taxation of your company or if you have failed to claim a tax benefit, such as a tax reduction, you can obtain relief from the corresponding tax share by filing a tax claim with the tax authorities. However, after December 31st, this action will be time-barred for certain taxes. Thus, you have until the end of 2023 to contest most of the taxes collected or paid in 2021 (income tax, corporate tax, VAT, etc.) and the local taxes of 2022 (CFE(1), CVAE(2), property tax, etc.). You should therefore check that you do not have a claim to make before this date.

Olympic Games and gifts to employees

To encourage a broad participation of the French in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024, URSSAF has indicated that exceptional conditions of exemption from social security contributions will apply to vouchers and gifts awarded to employees in the context of these competitions. Thus, in 2024, gifts in kind (tickets, transport, accommodation, various gifts, etc.) and/or vouchers offered to employees for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will escape social security contributions up to a limit of 25% of the monthly Social Security ceiling per beneficiary and per calendar year, i.e., up to a limit of €966.

(1) Cotisation Foncière des Entreprises (CFE) = Company Real Estate Contribution.

(2) Cotisation sur la Valeur Ajouté des Entreprises (CVAE) = Company Value-Added Contribution.